Because I could not stop for Death –
02:44 duration|Composed in 2020|Difficulty: Intermediate|First performed: September 2020
During the COVID-19 global pandemic, I set five of my favourite poems in the style of musical theatre. Here is Emily Dickinson’s astonishing “Because I could not stop for Death –” and Ellie Nunn’s extraordinary performance.
Because I could not stop for Death – sung by Ellie Nunn
Text
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –
Or rather – He passed Us –
The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –
Since then – ’tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity –
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)